1. Field
The present disclosure relates to alteration of original output from a software executable to provide altered output, according to an alteration scheme that is defined independently of the software executable and distributed as a separate alteration engine.
2. Description of Related Art
Various computer programs for providing an interactive video display on client computers, for example interactive game programs, are known in the art. Advertising can be inserted during play of such games by programming a function in the game that calls advertising material from a designated source during game play, so that the advertising appears during play of the video game. For example, advertising may be made to appear on a modeled billboard that is present in a modeled video game environment. The advertising content may be called at runtime from a designated, updateable source and may therefore be updated after the game program is distributed.
The use of advertising or community messaging in the context of game play is recognized as a way to generate ongoing revenue by selling space to sponsors for ads displayed to an established base of game users, or by promoting other revenue-generating opportunities through game play. In addition, the value of a particular game may be enhanced by the addition of community features, such as achievements, tournaments, messaging, and other features that facilitate greater social interaction between remote game players, thereby adding to the interest level provided by game play, which, in turn, can increase the amount of game play and the duration for which user interest in the game is sustained, as well as attract new users.
Notwithstanding these advantages of updateable advertising and other forms of communication in a game environment, prior methods of adapting such features for game play are subject to certain disadvantages Prior methods generally require that the desired functionality be designed into the game itself, and become part of the executable game code. As such, the communication modes cannot be changed except by downloading and installing a new game version. In addition, considerable effort may be expended in providing updateable communication features to a particular game, thereby adding time, cost and complexity to the game development process and increasing the investment required to develop a game. Also, development and publishing of software, including game software, may be performed by different entities between which communication and coordination are impaired, at least to some degree. It may be therefore difficult to incorporate functionality desired by the software publisher during the software development stage. And once the software has been developed and released, changes may be even more difficult to accomplish.
It is desired, therefore, to overcome these and other limitations of the prior art, and to provide new methods and systems that may be applied in new and unexpected ways to enhance user interest and participation in game play.